


Bet you didn't think(that I'd come back to life)

by MessedUpMessages



Series: Morgan [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Baby, Both Kinds, F/M, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Marriage, warning for angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 00:46:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MessedUpMessages/pseuds/MessedUpMessages
Summary: You want mommy to tell you a story before bed?What story do you want?The man of iron? Where did you hear that?What?A-alright. I'll tell you about my space adventure. I’ll tell you about your aunts and uncles. I'll tell you about your father. I'll tell you about the man of iron.All though most people just called him iron man.ORWhat happens after Infinity War and EndgameAs Told By Pepper





	1. A Rescue That, For Once, Goes As Planned

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been in the works for a while now  
> sorry  
> anyway  
> the chapter count might go up. right now i'm estimating 4 or 5.  
> i might do a series.  
> i have it planned out.  
> the writings the hard part.  
> anyway, comment, PLEASE  
> i swear, comments are my lifeblood, my food and drink.  
> please feed me.

_ Will that be all, Mr. Stark? _

_ That will be all, Miss Potts. _

 

Blood roars in Peppers ears, matching the throb of the suits repulsors as she rockets through the void, in search of a tiny clump of metal in the depths of space.

 

_ I don't have anyone but you _ .

 

Of all the things that could have gone wrong, this was one of the worst. If he had been killed, then at least he wouldn't have suffered. Wouldn’t have had to spend weeks drifting around space in a tin can, waiting for the oxygen to run out, waiting to die.

 

_ Am i gonna be ok? _

_ No. You’re in a relationship with me. Nothing will ever be ok. _

 

Because the waiting, that was the worst. Like with extremis, the waiting hurt the most. The knowledge that if help came, it might be too little, too late.

 

_ Threat is imminent and I have to protect the one thing I can't live without. That's you.  _

 

She urges the suit faster, further, the nano-suit behind her speeding up as well. It was his last hope. 

She had to be in time. Because- if she wasn't , she wasn't sure how to go on. 

 

She makes it in time. With the sound of rending metal she tears open the access panel and opens the tiny airlock, practically diving through the inner doors once they open. 

Its little better than the vacuum outside, the air saturated with carbon dioxide, on the verge of toxicity. Tony is limp against the wall, unconscious, iron man helm on the bench in front of his neatly tucked up feet. It’s ironic how peaceful he looks, prone in near death. 

Pepper beckons over her shoulder and the spare nano-suit drifts into the airlock, coming up beside her seconds later. With barely a nudge from Friday the nanotech envelopes Tony's form, feeding him oxygen and life. 

He breathes. 

Pepper feels something tight and hot in her chest and nausea in her stomach and she sobs, tears streaking the inside of the rescue suit. 

Tony gasps and sits up, rigid, then sags bonelessly. Pepper knows that behind the helm his eyes are wide, flicking around, trying to make sense of the situation he was in. 

His head turns and his breath catches short, and pepper knows,  _ knows _ , the same way she knows that life is growing in her belly, that he is looking at her, realizing he is safe. 

“Pepper…” he breathes, and she's smiling, so wide it hurts, and laughing and crying all at once. 

And it's wonderful. 

 

_ I'll catch you. I promise.  _

 

Pepper barely remembers the journey home. Barely remembers the blur of meetings that leads up to her standing on the helipad, watching tony go off to war again, this time with backup and three suits and dozens, hundreds of allies instead of a teenager, a wizard and her jogging suit. All she remembers is the warmth of his body next to her, the touch of his skin on hers and the feeling of giddy hope that rushes through her every time he moves, breathes,  _ lives _ . 

So she grasps the little moments because she knows he'll leave, knows he won't stop until the universe is healed. Which is how she finds herself standing on the helipad, arms around his neck, stealing the last taste of him before he leaves. He's smiling at her, hands hovering on her hips lightly. 

She smiles back, but it’s bittersweet. 

“Come back.” She says. “I've  got a surprise for when you do. So come back to me. Come back tony or I swear…”

His smile twists upward at the corner. “I will, Pep. I promise.”

He kisses her once more then gets into the shuttle, watching her out of the window as it vanishes into the blue, blue sky above the half empty planet. 

And pepper is left, alone, on a helipad at the avengers facility. 

Waving at a empty sky, smiling weakly at the clouds. One hand, the one with the ring, rests on her stomach, on the small bulge there. 

Because she knows he'll be back. 

 

_ And- when I drift off, I’ll dream about you. Always you.  _


	2. Listen to you breathe, Just living in a dream(It's just you and me)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i quite like this chapter  
> title of the fic is from stronger by the score  
> chapter title is from only by imagine dragons, check em out

Tony came back. 

Of course he did, there was never any doubt. 

(There wasn't.)

Anyway, he came back, and he wasn't alone. He brought with him everyone who had been lost. He brought them home(he doesn’t mention the surprise Pepper had talked about, and pepper wonders if he forgot). 

So of course, the first thing he does, is organized party. 

But not just any party. 

Their wedding. 

He first brings it up that evening, while the world is scrambling to rebuild, to organize. Its the first day back, and the avengers, their physical wounds healed but their mental scars festering, are lounging in the common area of the avengers facility. There are some new faces, some of them alien. There are many old faces, some hundreds of years old. And pepper-

Pepper is happy. 

She's surrounded by friends(Maria on her left, tony curled into her right), and her stomach is full(of multiple things), and she's happy. 

Then tony says, “you know what, Pep, we should set a date.”

And for a moment she's confused. After all, for the last few weeks, almost nothing had been further from her mind. Actually, the only thing she really paid attention to aside from the news was the growing swell to her stomach which had now become almost too big to hide in her regular suits. Tony hadn't commented on it, of course, because he knew she would have pulverized him, but he had cast glances her way while she's getting dressed. 

She knows he's still think about what he said that day in the park. He's right. She just hasn't told him yet. 

“Or, you know, we could just have it tomorrow. Think they've got the licence system up and running yet? I could, I don't know, pull some strings?”

Pepper puts her hand on his arm, pulling him a fraction closer. “You might have to wait a few days if you want to invite a bunch of people.”

She ignores the way her heart races like a school girl. Its finally happening. 

They took the long road, but they made it. 

Tony tilts his head and ponders a moment. 

“Hmm, I guess you're right. Yeah, might have to wait a bit. Oh well, you can't rush greatness.”

And the conversations over. Just like that. 

But tony never forgets a party. 

 

Two days later tony shows Pepper the venue, a tiny park in east manhattan they had chosen a while back. She smiles and forces down the swelling of nausea from her stomach. Today's a bad day, but she can't stop smiling in response to Tony's gleeful chattering. He's so excited, so eager for their stuttering courtship dance to finally come to a end, in the best way possible. 

He's more hopeful than she's ever seen him. 

 

The guest list is long, even though it mostly consists of the avengers, the guardians, and the wizards, but there is no promise of any awkward family reunions after their last fight so they don't have to think about that. Pepper is surprised, however, when she sees someone simply named Wong on the list. 

“Who’s he?” She asks. He shrugs and smiles a little. 

“No one really. Just someone I met before all the shit went down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He pauses for a second, then looks away, making his classic, ‘I'm tony stark I'm rich and what are emotions face’. “He saved my life,” he says a moment later. 

Pepper silently thanks whoever this Wong person is. 

 

Tony hand delivers most of the invitations. Its something he seems to not want to relegate to another person, despite most things involving manual labor. Everyone says they'll come, though pepper wonders if they have the feeling that if they say no, a man in a red metal suit will show up at their door with some missiles. 

But its the thought that counts. 

 

Pepper enlists the aid of Natasha and Maria with the dress, and at their urging, Peter parkers aunt as well. They form a odd quartet, with one being a ex-hydra assassin, one being a high ranking official in a government agency so secret it doesn't exis, one being the CEO of the biggest tech tycoon on the planet, and the last being the rather ordinary aunt of the newest avenger. 

But they work, and they have fun. 

Natasha and hill send her pointed glances at her less than flat stomach, and instantly discard all of the dresses with fitted waists. May notices, of course, and clucks softly to herself, smiling. 

They're all smiling. They can't help it. 

Because, after all the pain that happened, life is moving on in the best way possible.

 

The dress is soft and comfortable, which she blames on May. It's also practical and only just brushes the ground, which she blames on Natasha. It hides the tiny baby bump effortlessly, courtesy of Maria. Tony hasn't seen it, as per tradition, but she thinks he'll like it. 

 

The day comes, a week later. 

Its bright, clear, a beautiful day. 

Everything goes smoothly. It's almost cliche. 

 

The guests are all seated, and everyone is smiling(There's a old man with a mustache at the back. Pepper doesn't recognize him, but assumes he's supposed to be there. It's only right, after all, no one can get past the impenetrable security at the park. Tony spared no expense. He didn't want to risk it). Its fairly loosely arranged, due to it being outdoors, but the pavilions are bright and white against the green trees and blue skies. 

Pepper knows its rushed(you can't plan a wedding properly in three weeks) and doesn't care. It's perfect for her. For them. Because they can't wait for the next big fight. Because after years and years of nothing going right, of breakups and fallouts and war as and fighting and stones, everything's going right. They're standing on a platform, holding hands, and their eyes are locked as they say the words that will keep them together forever. 

_...to have and to hold… _

Because they have each other. If nothing else works, she'll have him, and he'll have her. Nothing could be better. If she's in trouble, he'll save her, and vice versa. They'd done it so many times it was instinct. Clockwork. Always. 

_...for better or for worse… _

They've already gone through hell and back and they survived, came out on the other side of tartarus scarred and stained and broken but they'd done it together. And that was all that mattered. 

_...till death do us part… _

Pepper doesn't think about that. Not yet. She doesn't need to. She has this moment, this day, right here and right now. She would never give it up. Not ever. She doesn't need to. It has everything she needs. 

And of course, they don't need those words. They're just formalities, checkmarks in the endless paperwork of life. They already know the truth. They have already sworn their souls, their hearts to each other a long time ago. 

And everything is right. 

Absolutely right. 


	3. I'll be the sun, I'll be the waves(I'll be the one you love the most)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title from west coast by imagine dragons

Its several days after the wedding when tony takes her to one of his work shows and shows her the new protocols he installed. It's nothing fancy so at first she's not very interested until he says, 

“I've restricted my access to the suits. I've made it so only you can open the vaults. Well, you or a thousand pounds of dynamite. Maybe- maybe it will keep you safer.”

Pepper meets his eyes, shocked. One hand flies to her mouth and she feels overwhelmed. She knows how much this means to him. She can see it on his face. He's wearing his ‘I don't have feelings’ face again and he looks away from her gaze, fiddling with something on his bench. 

This is his brainchild, the iron man suits. They were his stairs when he had fallen so far into hell, his lifeline. They had pulled him to safety and he was giving her the only way to let him use them again. He was giving up iron man for her. 

For real this time, she can feel it. 

She pulls his hands into hers and kisses him. 

She'll tell him tonight. 

 

(She doesn't. She's too nervous, head full of thoughts like  _ what if he leaves me _ and  _ what if he doesn't want to be a father _ . But she knows, deep down, that he'll never leave her. And he'll try anything she asks him to.)

 

In the end, she tells him in a very domestic way. 

They're in the living room, curled up on a couch. Tony is holding a tablet, scrolling through houses. Actuall, two story, farmhouses. He points one out wordlessly and she puts out her hand. 

Thumbs down. 

“Why not?” He asks, indignant. She makes a face and clicks on a different one. 

“Didn't like the kitchen. Ooh, what about this one?”

She shows him the spacious kitchen and the open floor plan and he makes a face in return. “It's got atrium ceilings, pep, I thought you hated that.”

“I never said that!”

They lapse into silence for a while scrolling through Zillow. After a while pepper points out another one, gathering her courage. “This one has a good sized nursery.”

Tony's hand jerks imperceptibly. He's startled, but tries not to show it. 

But his hands are shaking. 

“Pepper…” he says slowly, and she looks at him mischievously. He's on the right track, he just doesn't want to dare to hope. 

“Pepper, is there something you're not telling me?”

She touches his cheek softly and smiles, kissing him. “Maybe.”

His eyes go wide and flicker from her face to her stomach. She's not wearing a skintight shirt so the bumps not visible, but is is when his hands pull the material taught against her skin. 

He practically quivers. 

“Pep, please tell me that's what I think it is and not lunch.”

She tilts her head to the side. “ I think it’s what you think it is. But I'm not sure what you're thinking.” 

With a jerky smile, tony laced his arms behind her back, burying his face in her neck. “Pepper,” he says again, “are you pregnant?”

She laughed and hugs him close, running her fingers through his hair. “Yes.”

He makes a sound halfway between a squeal and a squawk, arms tightening around her waist. He raises his head and meets her eyes, pupils dilated. “You're sure?”

“I'm sure.”

She can't remember much after that except a feeling of satisfaction and the sensation of being wrapped up in  _ tony _ . 

 

Tony takes the news well. 

If by well you men a total flailing mess. 

It's not that he's not excited, he's overjoyed. It's more that he doesn't know what to do. 

He doesn't want to tell anyone, not yet. He doesn't know how to tell anyone. Fornow, he is content to keep pepper to himself, to hide her away from the eyes of the world.

They buy a farm outside the city, with a view of the mountains. Its pretty run down, so they set to work. With the help of a few avengers and the occasional magician that drops by every now and then, they repair the walls, the roof, the barn, and get all the heavy lifting done. After that it's just paint and plaster. They spend one particularly domestic afternoon in the barn, giggling madly and splattering each other with paint. 

Pepper no longer hides the bump, despite it growing steadily bigger. The avengers have started noticing(obviously, since they have eyes), but they haven't said anything either. 

They paint the outside of the barn and the house, refit the rails on the wrap around porch, paint the inside of the house, paint the door, paint the cliche picket fence that encases the overgrown garden. They weed the garden, ridding it of it's tangle of scrubby bushes and vines and kudzu. They hang a porch swing and spend their mornings on it in languid silence, sipping their coffee and watching the sunrise. 

They plant a tree.  

They hike in the mountains. 

They start a garden. 

They hang pictures on the wall. 

They cook in the kitchen. 

They watch Netflix. 

They live.  

And they don't get called into a fight every other day. The other avengers drop by weekly, sporadically, to say hi or to get away from the city, but they never try to tell them about the fights, or the blood and the broken bones. 

Peter drops by on the weekends to tinker in the lab Tony's built in the barn. Tony goes with him, and pepper often won't see them for hours. 

Natasha stops in for tea, surprisingly, often with Maria and May. They talk about everything under the sun. 

And in the evenings, when everyone's gone gone, pepper will stand with tony on the porch and look out at the life they've built in a few month's. 

The garden. 

The barn. 

The mountains. 

The swing. 

The tree that has already shot up. 

Then tony puts his arms around her and kisses her and everything is perfect. 

 

Of course, since things like morning sickness exist, not everything is perfect. Pepper will sometimes wake just to throw up, and tony will hold her hair back while she does, murmuring nonsense into the crook of her neck while she retches, kneeling on the tile next to her. 

But they are happy. 

 

Four months later she goes into labor while eating dinner. 

 

Morgan Virginia Stark is born eight and a half hours later. 


	4. We got the same heart beat(We're living for the same dream)

Morgan Virginia Stark is born at 1:23 on April 23rd, in the sterile white delivery room of a generic hospital in New York. 

Pepper doesn't care about the name of it, and neither does tony. They are oblivious to everything outside of  _ her _ . 

Their daughter. 

Their living breathing daughter who had been nothing but a dream and a thought until they held her. 

And she's right  _ there _ . 

Tony cries when she's born. He's still crying when the doctors hand her to pepper, and that makes pepper cry too. 

Because she's theirs, a living breathing symbol of their bond. 

She's completely normal for being the child of a genius and a science experiment. She's tiny and red(like most babies, tony assumes, though he's not really sure) and screaming, waving her fists in the air with surprising vigor. Pepper holds her close and nurses her, tony pressed against her side. The three of them are in their own little world, enveloped in  _ them _ . 

 

They go home two days later. 

The farmhouse is no different, but it feels more like a home. The avengers stop in one by one to say hello to morgan(who scrunches up her face at the strange people) and to bring over food. Some stay for longer. 

Natasha, may, and Maria stay in the guest rooms for a few days, helping out. May weeds the garden while pepper sits on the swing with Morgan, chatting about anything and everything. Nat and Maria entertain tony, helping him finish setting up the nursery. 

His eyes seem to be permanently red. 

Pepper is in a daze, almost unbelieving. Sometimes she'll look down at the child in her arms and blink in disbelief, wonder. Because after so long they finally have what they wanted. A home, a life, a child. 

It's wonderful, but pepper is constantly in fear of it slipping away, like a dream. Vanishing like a mirage. 

It doesn't. 

It stays and only gets better as it goes on. 

 

She tries not to think about the future,

_...till death do us part… _

But she does think about Morgan. Everything about her. 

First steps. 

First words. 

First days of school. 

First boyfriend that tony will feel obligated to chase away. 

There's a whole life out there waiting for the child in her arms, and if pepper envisions a scene far far in the future, of a old man and a old woman sitting on a porch at sunrise, breathing their last  _ together _ , well, then maybe that last vow doesn't sound so bad. 

After all, Who knows?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS ISNT THE END  
> I'm gonna be posting a series of oneshots about Morgan(and possibly about pepperoni pre post and during IW and Endgame, as well as the other avengers post IW) under this same collection, Morgan. Hold on!  
> title from imagine dragons' love


End file.
